Resilient seat



H. c. FLINT RESILIEN'I' SEAT July 19, 1949.

2 Sheets-Sheet J.

Filed June 29, 1945 INVENTOR HYLAND C. F?

A'r'I'QRNKYa Jul 19, 1949. H c. FLINT 2,476,820

RESVILIENT 'SEAT Filed June 29, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N v EN TOR HYLAND C. FLINT Patented July 19, 1949 positionw Neither has been; entirely satisfactory.

RESILIEN'I. SEAT Hyland 0. Flint, Akron, om, assignor to The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application June 29, 1945, Serial no. 602,119

This invention relates to resilient seats," and. j ing-the spring units. Tothis end helicallsprings,

more especially it relatesto resilient seats wherein hairpin connectors and ropehave been employedl the cushioning eifect' is achieved by the use of without success. In'some cases the strain was resilient springing in combination.with resilient too great and the connectors broke if the conupholstery'. 5 nectors were of sufllcient strength there was a Heretofore, resilient seats such as are used in loss of resilience. Furthermorelocal connection railway coaches, aircr'aft',=busses and automobiles between units created pdintsvof high strain con-' f have been of two general types, namely. those that centrationresulting.ini metal fatigue and failure.-. rely'solelyonlcoilsprings ior resilienceandthose j Accordingly,jthe Kadentypespring is employed I that 'relylsolelyon cellular orfoamed-rubber com"- effectively in the'automotivefield.only in back I V I rests upon whichv relatively little weight is im- Experiencehas 'show'n-ithat.a coiltspring unitof posedp' over 4'inch'height rapidlyv becomes unstable under. The chief .object of this invention is to. provide compressiom-i 'anditends. to tiltv laterally. Coll? a .resilient" seat advantageously. employing both'" springsaof lessthan-.4 inchesflinfheight rapidly',-rl5;spring means and -cellular rubberrto obtain -rebecome hard or-stiif-in-orderto support the weight 1 silie'nee. Another obiect is to devise a; unitiz'ed of a person inithelimited space of-travel "availseating surface structure employing a plurality able. Furthermore, a coil spring upon compres of Kaden type spring elements and a textile fabric sion rapidly becomes ineflici'ent' as- 'aresilient meansfor uniting, attaching and combining-all I structure; in fact, it is likely thatsuch a spring -of said spring elements. More specifically" the" is eflicientonly for about'50% of its free length. invention aims to employ spring means of the Substantiallythe same objection applies to sponge Kaden type aforementioned in a novel manner or cellular rubber when used-asthe sole resilient; to obtain optimum efllciency and seating comsupporting means. Under compression. the cel- I fort; to enable the use of. Kadentype spring means lularstructur co pacts and rapidly loses its composed of smaller gauge wire, thus effectin a yielding characteristic. T

One expedient employed to overcome the foreseat with respect to rate change, that is, to reduce saving in cost; to improve the operation of-the going objections to 'cellular'rubberand to coiled the extentof change in deflection characteristicssprings is the use ofsprings made according to of'the respective spring elements thereof resultthe invention of Kurt" Kaden, U. S. Patent No. ing from extended use oftheseat; andtoprovide- 2,002,399, issued May" 21,, 1935. These springs improved supportand protection to the cellular.

consist of units each composed'of a" single wire rubber portion of the seat structure. Other obbent into a succession of sinuosities or. undula-- -jects willbemanifestasthe description proceeds.

. tions-extending'the entire length of the unit, the 0f the accompanying drawings: unit as a wholehaving an arcuatepermanentset. r Fig. 1 is a plan view of a resilient seat embodytimgtheir'garc"ofcurvaturegis substantially 'flatl'yingstructure;

the units actrindiyidually, thereisf no icooper'atio seated personfis .lborne solelyibyftheithree or mm medial spring ofthe. seat;-' the'='spring=imits tempts-have been. .niade o -re m'edy ,the afore Such p n nits r mounted side by. side in ing the invention, a portion thereof being brokenparallelism and their-"ends anchored, at which away and abortion stripped back to reveal undertened ascompared,toinormal.- .Upholsterymate Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof ,rialtis, mounted upon the-convex side-'ofthespring. 40 .Fig. 3'is' a side elevation thereof; 6 unitsfi Infuse-this construction1..has' provedun' Fig.4is a section, onalarger scale, on the linesatisfactory-ease; seat duethe lateralj'insta 44 f' j 11.;

bility of thespringlmits;and;;due tov the fact that" 1 between? adjacentunits-L Thus .1 the weight, 0 .a 1 A embodiment :;of the invention; a

disposed laterally. thereof spreading? Y sidewayaf being broken away and-in section and Fig. 5. is;asimilarIsection-on the'line 5-5 of. .Fig o isya fragmentary plan viewof a modified Fig. 7;- iszaefront elevation 1 thereof',-: a jportionf thus producingya pronounced depression the; Fig."8'3is aifra'gmentary.sideelevation oixthev seat. In'orderatofsupportsthe concentrated loam:5 -modifiedstructure, a portion-thereof being in,

the gauge of the wire of thespring unitshadj to: section; I be-increased, resulting inthardriding'andisnapp Referring-to Figs.=}1 t'o'51o'f thedrawingathere spring back or 1- recove. 'yjh fi'or'n .Jgi'eflection. I At mentioned undesirable-featuresaby: intercomittt l I. I2. respectively.risingtherefromthe front rail shown{a .geatstructurebompriSinE a frame 'consisting of a basalt-and front. and rear' rails 3 being somewhat higher than the rear rail. Said frame as shown is composed of wood, although other suitable material may be used for the purpose if desired. Spanning the space between the rails ll, I2 is a series of wire spring units l3, l3 herein shown as eight in number, said spring units being arranged in parallelism and connected at their opposite ends to the front rail 1 l and rear rail I2. Each spring unit is of the type that constitutes the subject matter of the Kaden patent aforementioned. It is composed of a single tem-' pered wire bent into a succession .of curves of sinuous or serpentine form extending the length of the unit. The unit also has an arcuate permanent set longitudinally on a relatively short radius. When mounted for use, with its convex side uppermost, the unit is somewhat flattened so as to have a longer radius of curvature. Thus upon vertical deflection the spring does not close upon itself and is continuously urged to return to its normal position, and retains its efficiency throughout the full extent of its vertical travel.

For mounting the spring units 13, identical anchor members ii are mounted upon the front and rear rails ll, l2. Each anchor member consists of a metal strap aiiixed to the rail in vertical position, and having a terminal loop or eye [6 at its upper end, which eye is disposed above the top margin of the rail. The eye H: of each anchor encircles a tubular resilient bushing I! of rubber, and the terminal portion of a spring unit wire extends through said bushing. The arrangement prevents metal to metal contact of the spring units and anchor members thereby reducing wear and obviating squeaking, and also permitting a modicum of angular movement of the spring units.

The illustrative embodiment of the invention shown herein is designed for use in busses or similar vehicles that are provided with arm-rests, and where economy of space is essential. Accordingly the seat is provided with a local lateral offset portion, indicated at IS in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, which portion extends around the front end of an arm-rest to provide additional support to an occupant of the seat. To this end, spring wires 20,20 of hairpin shape are mounted with their closed ends hooked under adjacent loops of the spring unit l3 that lies next to the marginal spring unit atone side the seat. The remainder of each wire 20 overlies and rests upon the top of said marginal spring unit, and extends laterally therebeyond'in overhanging relation thereto. The outer ends of the hairpin shaped wires 20 are connected to a of the wire of the spring units l3, as is clearly shown in Fig. 4, with the result that the units cannot move relatively of the fabric cover, and movement of any unit relatively of other units is translated to said other units.

Mounted upon the spring-seat structure described is a cushion element 26 of sponge or cellular rubber composition. This element is secured 'in place upon the seat in any preferred as a unit in a manner not heretofore achieved bent spring wire 2| of irregular shape that is secured at one end to the marginal spring unit I3 and at its other end rests upon the top of front rail ll, said wire 2| defining the contour of the offset portion l9.

The several spring units l3 and the wires of oflset portion l9, are disposed between two sheets of textile fabric 24, 24, the warp and weft strands of which preferably are arranged parallel to the sides of the seat-frame, and which are heavily rubberized on their confronting faces. The fabric sheets 24 completely encase said spring units with the exception of the end portions thereof that are received in the anchor-eyes IS. The sheets 24 are firmly pressed together, and are bonded to each other and to the spring units by vulcanization. The vulcanization of the rubber coating of the fabric covers readily is effected if said coating is an air-curing composition. The fabric sheets 24 closely embrace the undulations by this type of spring unit. Thus the spring support functions as a, unit, and since the fabric sheets 24 are longitudinally and transversely inextensible, locally applied load is distributed substantially over the entire area thereof. Because concentration of any load is obviated, it is possible to construct the spring units of lighter gauge wire. Tests have shown that resilient seats embodying the invention have a slower and smoother action than similar seats whereof the spring units are independent of each other and composed of heavier gauge wire. Furthermore, the major deflection under load occurs in the spring units, thereby enabling the use of a relatively thin sponge rubber cushion, whereby the advantageous features of such cushions are utilized, and undesirable features inherent in full-depth sponge rubber cushions are avoided. Moreover, the fabric cover on the spring units furnishes an excellent support for the cushion, and protects the bottom of the latter from wear against the spring wires.

In the modified embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 6 to 8, inclusive, the base, designated 30, is an open rectangular metalframe composed of angle iron, the transverse members 3|, 3| of which are bent upwardly adjacent their ends, the side rails 32, 32 which extend from front to rear of the seat being thereby somewhat elevated. The wire spring units l3 of the seat, which are identical with the spring units of the previously described embodiment, are anchored to the side rails 32 so as to extend transversely of the seat instead of in fore-and-aft direction as previously described. In all other essential features the modified structure is similar to that previously described; the cushion element 34 may however, be shaped as shown in Fig. 7 so as to extend over the side rails 32.

Resilient seats of the modified construction described are more stable transversely of the seat than fore-and-aft thereof and give the seated person a high degree of security against side roll. This security is much greater than is possible in coil spring seats or seats with full depth cellular rubber cushions. There is also the advantage of the front edge being completely resilient under the seated person's legs. It was not comfortable and not considered desirable to sit on a seat composed of Kaden type springs extending transversely thereof prior to the application of the fabric layers, for the reason that the concentration of load is greater than when sitting on these springs running fore-and-ait. This is due to the bone structure of the body concentrating the weight of a seated person on two points, these points being positioned transversely on a seat with respect to each other. Therefore, it will be seen that these points will rest on a single spring unit extending transversely ofthe seat whereas saidpoints being spaced from each other will span across approximately three spring units if the latter extend fore-and-aft of the seat. Experience has proved that with the application of the fabric layers encasing the springs the load is distributed completely to all units and over all the turns of the units and therefore the amount of deflection is substantially the same for the weight of a person whether imposed transversely or longitudinally of the spring units. It has thus been shown that this invention makes possible differential stability arranged to conform to any condition of convenience or necessity.

The invention provides a resilient seat that is comfortable to the occupant thereof, effects stability of the several spring units of the seat, and achieves the other advantages set out in the foregoing statement of objects.

Modification may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope thereof as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A resilient seatcomprising a seat frame, a series. of parallel upwardly arched flat spring units spanning the frame, means mounted on opposite sides of the frame to which the respective 'ends of the spring units are anchored, said means comprising tubular rubber bushings in which the spring-ends are received, and flexible sheet material bonded to all the sheet units and so interconnecting the same that they react in unison to locally applied stress.

2. A resilient seat comprising a. seat frame, a series of parallel, transversely fiat, upwardly arched wire spring units spanning the frame and connected to opposite sides thereof, wire elements connected to a marginal spring unit and spring unit adjacent thereto and overhanging the marginal spring unit so as to constitute a local ofiset region on the spring structure, and flexible sheet material bonded to the upper and under side of the spring structure including the ofiset region thereof to stabilize the individual sheet units and cause them to react in unison to locally applied stress.

3. A resilient seat comprising a seat frame, a series of parallel upwardly arched fiat spring units spanning the frame and connected to opposite sides thereof, means mounted on opposite sides of the frame to which the respective ends of the spring units are anchored, said means comprising tubular rubber bushings in which the spring-ends are received, and sheets of textile material substantially coextensive with said spring units disposed on' opposite sides thereof, said sheets bonded to the spring units and to each other whereby said units react in unison to locally applied stress.

4. A resilient seat comprising a seat frame, a.

series of parallel upwardly arched flat spring units spanning the frame and connected to opposite sides thereof, means mounted on opposite sides of the frame to which the respective ends of the spring units are anchored, said means comprising tubular rubber bushings in which the spring-ends are received, sheets of textile material substantially coextensive with said spring units disposed on opposite sides thereof, said sheets bonded to the spring units and to each other whereby said units react in unison to locally applied stress, and a sponge rubber cushion supported by the spring units and resting upon said fabric 'cover.

HYLAND C. FLINT.

REFERENCES orrnp The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

